Free Site Registration


Commemorating National Fight Procrastination Day (Belatedly)

Print
Email
Reprints
September 12, 2012

I meant to write about the latest corporate-sponsored holiday, National Fight Procrastination Day, when it occurred last week, but I just didn’t get around to it.

Turns out NFPD, as we’ll call it here, occurred on September 6, according to a series of press releases issued by BMO Harris Bank last week urging the public (or journalists at least) to “avoid costly financial procrastination mishaps on National Fight Procrastination Day,” “embrace National Fight Procrastination Day,” “use National Fight Procrastination Day to take charge of your finances,” and “no excuses—financial control needs to be a priority.”

With four separate, but similarly themed releases showing up on PR Newswire around the same time, I thought I had somehow overlooked some important national commemoration that a consortium of financial powerhouses was promoting. Instead, they all seemed to originate from the same bank and provide more or less the same advice: start saving, understand your debt, establish good credit, and “plan for success.”

It seems doubtful that NFPD is an actual official national holiday, and there is no mention of a presidential or congressional proclamation in any of the announcements. Maybe BMO Harris Bank will eventually get around to lobbying Congress for that next year. In any case, Congress as usual was itself procrastinating on getting back to work from its long end-of-summer recess. About half of them, along with the President, were too busy partying at some convention down in Charlotte, N.C., to bother with making any proclamations they couldn’t read off the teleprompter.

I have to admit, though, that NFPD is something I should be embracing. For example, I finally began writing this column around 6:30 in the morning, with the newsletter containing it scheduled to go out around 8:00 am. Plus, I have to admit that BMO Harris asks some good questions about some behaviors that I’m sure a lot of people would have to fess up to sharing, including me: “Do you have a pile of sale receipts on the kitchen counter that you promise yourself you’ll take care of later? Are you constantly putting off balancing your check book? Is saving something you’ll start ‘someday’?” Yes, yes, and yes.

So while NFPD certainly pales in significance compared to the day we commemorated yesterday on September 11, it should resonate with all those people, including many accounting clients, who could use a little prodding and assistance from their trusted advisors to get their finances in order.

0 Comments

Be the first to comment on this post using the section below.

Add Your Comments...

Already Registered?

If you have already registered to Accounting Today, please use the form below to login. When completed you will immeditely be directed to post a comment.

 

Follow Accounting Today
Advertisement
Advertisement

What's the Biggest Threat or Challenge Facing Accountants?

May 22, 2013

Attendees at Accounting Today's Meet the Editors Dinner at Keens Steakhouse in New York discuss the top issues confronting accountants.

Women in Accounting: Breaking the Mold

May 21, 2013

A continued conversation with Marcum’s Nanette Lee Miller and Janis Cowhey McDonagh about the obstacles women in the accounting profession face when trying to make their way into leadership positions.

Advertisement

SLIDE SHOW

Tax Season by the Numbers

May 22, 2013

The IRS recently released statistics covering the year to May 10, 2013.

Top 10 Tech Initiatives -- 2013

May 5, 2013

The AICPA's annual list of IT priorities for accounting firms.

Tax Stats: May 2013

April 30, 2013

Our monthly collection of statistics from the world of tax.

10 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes

April 29, 2013

Help your clients avoid these common pitfalls.

Common E-mail Security Mistakes

April 23, 2013

These five bad habits can make your confidential information -- and that of your clients -- easy to steal.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement